Ethiopia: US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken calls top Amhara leader

Ethiopia: Anthony Blinken, US Secretary of State, has telephonically contacted Demeke Mekonen, Deputy Prime Minister & Foreign Minister of Ethiopia. Demeke Mekonen is one of the top leaders of the Amhara ethnic group. Tigray and Amhara regions are locked in several border disputes which are one of the underlying causes of the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia. Blinken’s call to Demeke seems a US attempt to take large ethnic groups of Ethiopia onboard regarding ongoing mediation efforts. US Special envoy to the Horn of Africa, Jeffery Feltman, and African Union mediator Olusegun Obasanjo is in Ethiopia where they are meeting with parties to the ongoing Ethiopian conflict in order to find a peaceful solution to escalating armed conflict in Ethiopia.